Victims of alleged cleaning thieves still fighting to get stolen items back

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

A treasured family diamond is caught in the middle of a theft case uncovered by the Channel 4 I-Team.

Our investigation began earlier this year as we focused our hidden cameras on a cleaning company accused of stealing from at least a dozen homeowners across Middle Tennessee.

We found some of the victims were cancer patients and, in one case, even our hidden cameras were taken. Now, many of the victims are still fighting to get their property back.

One of those victims is a woman from Nashville who went to court Friday to fight for a precious family heirloom. Aly Sands said she's suing the pawn shop where the diamond wound up.

She isn't able to confront the cleaning company owner who allegedly stole the diamond, because he's still on the run.

"I've had a lot of sleepless nights," Sands said.

Sands and a number of other homeowners turned to the Channel 4 I-Team for help. They all said they had hired Zack Jones with IGB Residential Cleaning Service only to find out later they had been ripped off.

So, we decided to hire Jones and his wife, too. But, what they didn't know is the apartment we wanted cleaned was outfitted with hidden cameras. Then, what we captured surprised even us. We caught Jones scoping out the costume jewelry we hid.

However, when our news crew showed up to pay the couple, they were gone, and so were our cameras - except for one that caught Jones in action.

The hidden camera video shows one of the Channel 4 I-Team's cameras in Jones' hand.

When the I-Team called Jones and his wife, Ithaca Black-Jones, about our investigation, they both denied stealing anything.

Black-Jones has not been charged with any crime, but she does implicate her husband in a series of text messages sent to an attorney representing Aly Sands over her missing diamond. In one text, Black-Jones wrote, "(Zack Jones) probably stole it out of someone else's house."

Those texts are now part of the lawsuit Sands has filed. Friday, she was in court asking the pawn shop that allegedly bought the stolen diamond to hand it over and pay her attorney fees.

After the hearing, a judge ordered the court to take custody of the diamond in question until they can resolve the case. Meanwhile, the man accused of stealing it is still nowhere to be found. Police have been unable to find him to serve a warrant for the theft of our cameras.

The I-Team has tried to reach out to Ithaca Black-Jones for comment about the hearing Friday, but the phone number we have for her is no longer in service.